We discussed in class yesterday - be sure to check out the Tipping Barrels surf video if you were away in order to get an overview of the beauty of the area.
Hearings (government) are resuming today. Read article first, then comment:
Also see 2nd film for a brief overview.
Enbridge Pipeline Proposal Response:
ReplyDeleteThis is my weekly post..
The ancient, magnificent Great Bear Rainforest is the largest temperate rainforest that remains in good shape and still contains thousands of species of birds, plants and animals. Approximately 60% of the world’s temperate rainforests have been destroyed as a result of logging and other developmental projects. (1) The Great Bear Rainforest is a gem that is home to a biological abundance of over 10 000 years of evolution, with trees towering 90 meters up and waters rich with life. (1) Wild salmon are the most important species for coastal rainforest ecosystems, with the famous White Spirit and Grizzly bears depending on healthy salmon for survival. Salmon are also responsible for nourishing the soil of the rainforest with their carcasses. The ecosystems of this area are in complete harmony with one another, the land, trees and plants co-existing with the water systems and the marine life. To break the balance between the two would be naive and ludicrous, but it is of swaying controversy, but as of last summer “it is in the national interest to run the Enbridge Pipeline from the coastal town of Kitimat in the heart of the Great Bear Rainforest through the Gitga’ First Nation Territory and into the province of Alberta.” (2) The recognition of the importance of this cycle, along with adjusting economic structure maintaining them should be an obvious national interest. But, it is not.
If the viable reasons that reflect the importance and unique qualities of this ecosystem are not enough to protect it, maybe recognizing the effects an oil spill have had on aquatic ecosystems world-wide because that sort of thing occurs, rather frequently. Oil spills destroys thousands of species that are un-renewable, such as vital micro-organisms and algae that support other ecosystems which in return are vital to the entirety of the oceans well-being. Oil causes the insulating capabilities of birds feathers to deteriorate dramatically, also making their wings heavier so they are unable to utilize their flying ability. If oil in ingested by an animal, they will either die immediately or suffer with high toxin levels in their systems, while damaging their immune systems. It interrupts breeding grounds and sea beds that are otherwise feeding areas for those species on the ocean floor. (3) These are the threats that keep environmentalists that have devoted their lives to the study and conservation of this rare ecosystem awake during the night. The manufacturing and utilization of the pipeline that will supply thousands of tankers with the oil they need to make the profit the Canadian government is looking for off of the Asian market will, more likely than not, destroy the most magnificent of ecosystems left on planet earth.
The Great Bear Rainforest is The importance of this very statement is not going to be ignored. In reference to the documentary that I watched last week, “It is too late to be pessimistic.”(4) The time is now and actions are being made towards creating a significant voice for the beautiful, plentiful, and currently thriving species of the Great Bear Rainforest. The men and women that assemble the Pacific Wild Wildlife Conservation Organization are those looking out for the ignorant politicians who are too focused on money to have the dignity and sense of priority to allow the most important, and authentic of issues to be addressed. The environmentalists attending the joint review panel hearings and allowing the opinions that will salvage our children’s generation the quality of living that they deserve are searching for justice in the best of interests. Action plans have been reviewed by these conservation organizations that suggest taking the money suggested to be spent on the manufacturing of the Enbridge Pipeline to be put towards supporting the green-economy, also known as the economy of the future. We are knowledgeable enough in the twenty first century to understand the repercussions of oil spills, use of oil tankers and effects such things have on our ecosystems that allow us to live today, how could the most educated and experienced of politician turn their back on the FACTS? Its too late to be a pessimistic, today is the day, green energy is the energy of the future and investing in such an environmental stress is just SENSELESS!
ReplyDeleteRefrences:
(1) http://guardingthegifts.org/about-gtg/great-bear-rainforest/
(2) http://www.pacificwild.org/site/press/1354822533.html
(3) http://www.greenlivingtips.com/eco-news/effects-of-oil-spills.html
(4)http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jqxENMKaeCU&feature=player_embedded
This is my weekly post:
ReplyDeleteLike the white Spirit Bears roaming amidst its thousand-year old trees, the Great Bear Rainforest is a marvel. Not just of nature, but of hard work and collaboration to create a conservation agreement that allows environmental values and economic needs to work with each other, rather than against each other. Though these are still the main objectives, over the last 6 years their research has become part of a publically waged battle.
As Hannzy was saying, the Great Bear Rainforest is one of the largest pieces of temperate rainforest on the planet that still thrives, as a group effort has been made to ensure that it stays this way. Approximately 60% of the World’s rainforests similar to Great Bear have been destroyed for economic purposes. Though the Great Bear Rainforest now faces new opposition; the Northern Gateway Proposal hangs like a gloomy fog over this stretch of the Great Bear Rainforest, a region covering 250 miles of BC’s western coast and over 25 000 square miles in total. This vast coastal wonderland of fjords, densely forested islands, and exuberant wildlife is under threat of destruction.
The Great Bear region of British Columbia’s north coast is one of Canada’s ecological treasures. All five species of Pacific salmon are found here. It’s home to humpback and orca whales, as well as dolphins and porpoises. Extraordinary animals like Pacific coastal wolves and the rare white Spirit Bears live nowhere else on Earth. [1] The pipeline would bring as many as 220 supersized oil tankers into B.C’s sensitive coastal waters every year. The future of the Great Bear Rainforest rest greatly in our hands.
[2] Fortunately, many people have been speaking up and opposing the proposition for the Northern Gateway Pipeline. Cam Hill, a British Columbian resident stated: “We don’t have the resources to fight Enbridge’s multi-million dollar advertising campaigns. What we do have is the truth, and the truth is that a single oil spill in BC’s coastal waters could wipeout the traditional foods that feed our people. We live in one of the most beautiful and pristine places on earth, sharing our home with Spirit Bears, humpback whales and wild salmon. Why would we put that at risk? We don’t want dead water.”
Northern Gateway Pipeline President, John Carruthers, says they would like Aboriginal participation in the project and try to establish a “long term” benefit for Aboriginal communities. [3] There have been very few takers. I wonder why? Why would they want to sell their way of life? No amount of money in the World would be worth sacrificing what you’ve devoted your lives to protecting.
1) http://www.greenpeace.org/canada/en/Blog/the-great-bear-rainforest-and-the-continued-t/blog/38085/
2) http://www.alternativesjournal.ca/community/blogs/current-events/new-poll-opposition-northern-gateway-pipeline-increasing
3) http://ngm.nationalgeographic.com/2011/08/canada-rainforest/barcott-text
This is my weekly post...
ReplyDeleteTo begin I want to focus on the importance of the Spirit Bears. The Indians had a legend that every tenth bear was turned white as a reminder of the hardships of the last ice age, and these bears would forever live in peace. For decades, people have been attempting to protect this beautiful animal from extinction. In the 1950s, the government passed a law against hunting this bear. Their habitat, The Great Bear Rain Forest, in northern BC is approximately 250 000 hectares of wildlife. This habitat contains more life per square inch than the tropical rain forest of Brazil. Not only is this bear an extremely unique creature, it also plays an important role in the environment in which it resides. "The salmon leftover on the forest floor after its meals creates nitrogen, which provides nutrients for the surrounding trees when it seeps into the soil. These nutrients help the trees grow, and in turn, creates a healthy ecosystem. The large trees also ensure that the salmon have a lasting place to lay their eggs." The productivity of this habitat would lessen extremely without the Spirit Bear's presence. (1)
Digressing on the wildlife and beautiful habitats of the north-western coast of BC, I want to focus on The Northern Gateway Pipeline Project. The NGPP is the proposal to build twin pipelines from Bruderheim, Alberta to Kitimat, British Columbia. The eastbound pipeline would import natural gas and the westbound pipeline would export bitumen from the Athabasca oil sands diluted with a condensate where it would be transported to Asian markets by oil tankers(2). The repercussions from this project following through would be absolutely detrimental to the wildlife of BC. If this pipeline were to be built, it would carry 500 000 barrels of tar sand oil directly through the Great Bear Rain Forest every day. If an oil spill were to happen, it would destroy the ecosystem and kill the animals within days.
Not only does this project affect the wildlife, but it also affects the aboriginal peoples in this area. The pipeline would traverse through many of their traditional lands, and it would threaten the safety of the wild salmon these people have hunted and relied upon for hundreds generations. Over 61 First Nations bands in BC, including many along the proposed pipeline route, signed the "Save The Fraser Declaration" in opposition to the project in December of 2010(3). They are aware of the dangers this project poses to those who rely on the land.
I'm glad that Nathan Cullen isn't giving up on the battle against the NGPP because it really does need to be stopped.
(1): http://www.isfoundation.com/news/creatures/spirit-bear
(2): http://www.northerngateway.ca/project-details/pipeline-information-and-plan/
(3): http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Enbridge_Northern_Gateway_Pipelines#Aboriginal_groups